POLL: Lockdown at Joint Base Lewis-McChord Affecting Morale, Soldiers Say

You might have caught KOMO's story that morale for the 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment at Joint Base Lewis-McChord is eroding with every minute of the lockdown that passes.

Patch and other media outlets received a statement from a group of veterans and active-duty service members called March Forward!, over the weekend. (I've posted the statement below)

Obviously, the lockdown - which JBLM leadership enacted after hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of equipment reportedly went missing - has implications that could go beyond standard disciplinary issues.

So we put the question to you, Patch readers. Is the argument that the lockdown is affecting soldiers' morale legitimate? Take our poll at the top of the page.

Here's what the March Forward! group sent to Patch on Sunday.

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January 8, 2012

Free 4/9 Infantry! End the lockdown!
No collective punishment for officers’ incompetence!

The following statement was written by current and former soldiers in 4th Battalion 9th Infantry Regiment at Fort Lewis, Wash. It is being circulated on Fort Lewis and around the country by the veterans' and service members' organization March Forward!, organizing soldiers and supporters to put pressure on the command to to end the lockdown by making phone calls and signing a petition. Soldiers in the unit and their family members are available for interview.

Service Members and Military Families Speak Out Against the Lockdown

The Fort Lewis, 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment is again being subjected to abusive treatment by its chain of command. At this moment, Battalion Commander LTC James Dooghan has Charlie Company on lockdown. This means the soldiers who have done no wrong are being held against their will, not allowed to leave the base or even their barracks 24 hours a day.

Battalion Commander LTC Dooghan has also denied soldiers their right to properly prepare themselves to leave the military by ACAP (Army Career and Alumni Program—a mandatory series of workshops that are essential to helping soldiers transition from military to civilian life) and forcing them to participate in training exercises.

Enlisted soldiers in 4/9 Infantry are on lockdown because of the negligence of their officers and senior NCOs, who failed to maintain positive control over their sensitive items. Somehow over $630,000 worth of equipment have gone missing from C co.

Who pays for the failures of this unit’s leadership? The soldiers and their families. Incompetent leaders are punishing the entire company with a lockdown to cover their tracks. Why should service members be denied free time or the right to be with their families when we have committed no wrong? Why should officers exercise such reckless control over our lives?

The denial of ACAP rights is almost unheard of in the military. This deprives soldiers of the right to prepare for the difficult transition to civilian life. Iraq and Afghanistan veterans face disproportionately high rates of unemployment, homelessness and suicide upon separating from the military because of the failure to adequately provide the support and services we deserve--denying soldiers the right to ACAP is denying us the most essential tools we need to succeed in this transition, which will affect the rest of our lives.

The Fort Lewis 4/9 Infantry has become known around the world. It is one of the most troubled bases in the U.S. military, at the center of numerous public scandals regarding its treatment of soldiers. Suicides in the unit continue at an alarming rate with no accountability for the officers who refuse to address the PTSD crisis.

But 4/9 Infantry is also known for its soldiers speaking out and fighting back for their rights. 4/9 Infantry soldiers have been organizing together for better conditions since the preventable suicide of fellow soldier Sgt. Derrick Kirkland. In August, several members and veterans of 4/9 Infantry held a high-profile speak out outside Fort Lewis drawing attention to the criminally inadequate mental health treatment afforded to service members. The action made national headlines.

The current lockdown is the same old story: the officers and senior NCOs exhibit carelessness and incompetence, and then lower enlisted soldiers suffer—from mental health issues that go unaddressed, to pointless combat patrols, to collective punishment for the ineptitude of military officers.

It is for these reasons that active-duty soldiers throughout the entire U.S. military are joining together to take collective action. The problems we face can only be changed by the rank-and-file working and organizing together.

All across the country, this statement is being circulated by soldiers, veterans and supporters, calling on everyone to call the 4/9 Battalion Headquarters to demand an end the lockdown and the right to ACAP. Active-duty service members are coming together and organizing to stand up for our own interests against the abuses from our chain of command. Join us!

March Forward! is circulating the statement above together with an appeal for supporters to call the military brass at Fort Lewis and sign a petition demanding an immediate end to the lockdown.

"As a new mother and wife is was hard to deal with my husband on deployment alone. But this is just as hard. To see him treated like a criminal by the same military he went to war for is devastating."

- Anonymous wife of a soldier in C co, 4/9 Infantry

"We've been on lockdown for a few days now. They're taking away our phones and denying us contact with our families. I know that this won't be the case for the officers and senior NCOs. They will still have access to their loved ones while we're denied."

- Anonymous soldier in C co., 4/9 Infantry